The use of plastic pouches for the storage of leftover food or for retaining non-food items is a common practice made even more convenient by pressure sensitive strips for sealing the mouth of the bag. The food pouches are generally referred to as freezer bags such as typically distributed under the trademarks GLAD-LOCK and ZIPLOC.
A problem encountered when using freezer bags, especially for food storage, is that after the contents have been removed, a residue and/or food odor remains within the bag, thus making it impractical to reuse the bag for other food items. Rather than to dispose of the bag, a more economical and environmentally expedient procedure is to thoroughly wash and then re-use the bags.
It has been found difficult however, to satisfactorily drain and dry these bags especially for the reason that as a result of the relatively thin wall construction and single seam edge sealing, the walls tend to adhere and thus prevent adequate drainage and effective air drying. Makeshift solutions to this problem, such as by placing the mouth of the bag over pop bottles or soda cans, does not provide a satisfactory remedy. Furthermore, it is inconvenient to locate within the household, appropriate sized articles such as the previously mentioned containers for accommodating different size bags.
Another disadvantage of using the aforementioned articles is that they do not effectively separate the walls of the bag for maximum air to wall surface contact.
Previous drying devices such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,281,927, 3,608,738 and 3,730,354 were directed to boot drying. Consequently, the aforementioned devices did not provide the applicability for use with freezer bags nor did those devices have the versatility for alternate assembly of the component parts in conformity with the proportions of the bag to be dried.
Another device for drying gloves was described in U.S. design Pat. No. 243,313 however, there was no suggestion in that glove drying device for expanding the interior volume of the article as in the instant invention.